Sausage Egg McMuffins and Quarter Pounders with Cheese are nice for breakfast and rush-hour dinner every once in a while. Not every day. Ugh. Especially interspersed with Courthouse Food, which is Universally Awful.
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Never let a civil litigator tell you that they love litigation because they have a passion for justice. They really do it because they have a passion for Being Right, and more importantly, Making the Other Guy Look Like the Asshole S/He is.
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I-84 from Sturbridge to Hartford is BORING.
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The “Great Courses of the World” Buddhism course? More boring than the road from Sturbridge to Hartford.
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Even if you are a foot shorter, 50 + pounds lighter, and wearing three inch heels, unlike your male partner with whom you are second seating the trial? You still get to lug the extra bag with all the evidence, the post-its, extra highlighters, legal pads, red pens, the rule book, and the medical dictionary. If you look up “Junior Associate” in a legal dictionary, you will find the following: “see Sherpa.”
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The Junior Associate always entertains the Claims Representative. Which is fine, because you otherwise don’t get to take them out to lunch that much.
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The burning fire in your gut fuels thoughts all the way back home, and your mind whirs in crystal clarity, so elusive at other times. (Why can’t you feel this clear when balancing your checkbook?) Your dictaphone is full of ideas to be listened to when you get home, ready to make notes on pre-existing outlines, or call your colleague, to be fleshed out when the parties take up arms again the next day.
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“Awesome” means so much more when it comes from someone who has at least nominal power over your next pay raise.
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When you’re “On” for trial, it’s hard to focus on anything else. Your mind withdraws its ability to attend– making dinner, other cases, any conversation that doesn’t involve a rehash of the day just past, or a endless speculation about the day to come.
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No matter the jurisdiction, no matter the amenities at the courthouse, self-deprecating jokes about lawyers’ hot air will always convince the clerk’s office to make you one more set of free copies.
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Sometimes, your spouse nudges you in your sleep to make you stop arguing the next day’s motion, or presenting the next day’s cross, so he can get to sleep.
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And then you look forward to cooking dinner, and finishing your next freelance piece (Roast Beef Sandwich Heavens in Boston), and to winding down before winding up all over again in a month, or two, or six. Eyes on the horizon, but not so intently that the goals in the middle ground are forgotten. For now.
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You’re glad you’ve all that Ice Cream left over from The Social, because you’re damned if you remembered to buy any food while you were drafting jury instructions. Strawberry sauce counts as a fruit/vegetable, right?
Oh, can I help you draft jury instructions? My last brain cell is yearning for that kind of foreplay.
And … dictaphone? Those are still around? Really? Check out Jott.com.
I love living vicariously through your courtroom experiences. Please tell me what you were wearing.
XOXOXO
Cheri @ Blog This Mom!s last blog post..Threat Level Red TMI Warning!!!
I agree on the awesome. Totally universal.
Wow! Sounds very exciting. Good luck w/ your trial! Or break a leg or whatever lawyers tell each other to wish them well.
I feel (hypothetically) your pain. My college roomie, Zan, is a ADA for Middlesex, and I don’t hear from her for WEEKS during cases. And when we do talk, 90% of the conversation is about the case she’s currently prosecuting/has prosecuted/will be prosecuting. However, I find her work deeply facinating, so it’s like watching Court TV for me.
Probably not so much for you, though. But hey! The Roast Beef sounds yummy!
Mmmm roast beef. Arguing motions in your sleep though? I worry for you
If ketchup is a vegetable, than strawberry sauce is most definitely a fruit.
I’m sad to know, too, that the “Great Courses of the World” Buddhism course is so boring, because I was actually thinking of checking it out…
Schriftstellars last blog post..READS LIKE A LETTER TO M.
Ooh, where can I read about the roast beef sandwiches???
Will you get a breather sometime soon?
gs last blog post..Where in Los Angeles?
Just realized I somehow was not subscribed to the new address (and still need to fix it in my blogroll). So I’m a bit behind! Sounds like work is keeping you very busy. Ditto here, unfortunately.
Kazas last blog post..Where I’ve Been This Week
yes to the strawberry sauce, and hell to the yes about I-84.
Wow it all sounds so interesting! Please though don’t forget to eat! At least stash some twinkies in your briefcase!
Michelles last blog post..Closer Than Ever Before
Yup, a good butt kicking and an adrenaline high are exactly what a litigator has on order!
Also, raspberry or any fruit flavoured candy qualifies in the foodgroup column and, of course, chocolate is a food group unto itself. Drink a fruit/veggie juice every so often to get a tad of fibre and you are set! Excellent eating habits!
Maureens last blog post..gone buggy!
“They really do it because they have a passion for Being Right, and more importantly, Making the Other Guy Look Like the Asshole S/He is.“
I knew I could have been a lawyer!
You sound like your in your element though. Which is where we all should be whenever possible.
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